Which computer for gaming + browsing?

[idiot101]

The 6520G is integrated graphics that borrows RAM from the laptop as it doesn't have dedicated memory. If you have 4GB and you need to use a lot of RAM, then the integrated graphics will limit itself to 512MB. When you have more than 4GB, it will make use of up to 2GB for graphics depending on your RAM usage. My explanation is kind of crude, but the laptop will dedicate a part of the RAM to graphics and the size would depend on the RAM installed. Better performance is observed when you have 6GB or more RAM.

AMD has a feature called hybrid crossfire that allows the integrated and discrete GPU to work together to give you better graphics performance. But there aren't many games that take advantage of this and some perform much worse than when using just the dedicated graphics or the integrated one. The drivers aren't mature enough.

My issue with the Samsung is the warranty. I believe that Samsung doesn't provide you worldwide warranty and it is region specific. I would like you to verify if these models are serviceable in the UK. The processor and the hardware are decent. But please do read the reviews.

The DV6 is a nice model when it comes to hardware quality. But the dedicated graphics is as powerful as the integrated one. You might get slightly better performance on the dedicated card due to it having its own memory. The reason the integrated GPU is so powerful is because of the number of shaders it has. This allows for such good performance at low settings in games. But I am not in a position to tell you if the overall performance is better or not as there are not many games that will take advantage of the hybrid crossfire. Please read the reviews on hybrid crossfire to determine if you can take advantage of it on the games you will play.

Higher CPU clock speeds are good but the performance difference would barely be noticeable in normal tasks.These chips can accept 1600 RAM which should give you some boost in performance. AMD processors do depend on RAM speeds (but the performance gains are nominal).

I am sorry for the excessive rambling in this post.

[auronini]

I took your advice, decided to scrap the samsung for the warranty reason.

After extensive research i'm still where i started really. Narrowed it down to:

HD 7470M with 512MB- 1.7quad core AMD
AMD Radeon HD 6490M -1GB- 2.1dual core i3-2310M
NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M -1GB- 2.13dual core i3-330m
(all will be 8gb ram)

The hd7470m is practically a renamed 6490m apparantly, so is it better to have the REFURBISHED 1gb 6490, or the NEW 512mb 7470? (not sure if more ram makes much of a difference hehe)

Then whichevers better out of those two vs the (refurbished) 1gb NVIDIA GT 330m...some benchmarks say the 7470 and the 6490 graphics are better, while others say the GT 330m is better. Some people say the 330m is better and vice versa!
Could someone tell me if ill see much difference between these, or should i just got for the NEW one.

[nissangtr786]

I don't get it, are you getting a free replacement. Funnily enough all those graphics card are not so good, the gt 330m is most powerful but the 6490m and 7470m are dirext 11 but its to slow to benefit from it. Overall none of those graphics card are ideal for gaming on it.

The gt330m is best performing graphics card then the 6490m then the 7470m but the 6490m is virtually a 7470m.

If you want to play games get the gt330m even if it doesm't have dirext 11 it is a 128bit card that on notebookcheck shows gaming performance is quite a bit better those those amd cards.

I will warn you though all these graphics cards will be beaten by integrated ivy bridge graphics hd 4000.

[auronini]

Ive just recently bought my current laptop from argos outlet on ebay refurbished for £339, 12 month warranty and i have 3 months to return it according to ebay, so not a free replacement.
How much will a laptop with ivy bridge hd 4000 cost, im guessing considerably more?

Before i buy the GT330m do you (or anybody else) know of any other laptops with a graphics card better than the GT330m within the £400 price bracket which i've yet to find? (ill most probably overclock the GT330m at some point btw)

[idiot101]

You will be getting Trinity in about 3 months with up to 50% gain on the existing Llano on the GPU side. Llano has already shown to beat HD4000 easily. So, you should expect more gains from Trinity.

http://en.expreview.com/2012/02/19/i...est/21214.html
AnandTech - The Ivy Bridge Preview: Core i7 3770K Tested
AnandTech - The Ivy Bridge Preview: Core i7 3770K Tested
http://news.softpedia.com/news/AMD-T...s-235698.shtml

These are only preview samples. But I would assume that the production sample tweaks would be minimal at best.

[auronini]

I grant you the trinity APU does look like quite an improvement worth waiting for, but I'm doubting ill be able to afford one under £400 as I'm sure they'll be more expensive than their counterparts with the older APU that are currently £399 Refurbished. Would you agree?

[idiot101]

The new Trinity laptops might come in at a slightly higher price point(hoping this is not true) but it wouldn't take much time for the prices to come down(speculating here). AMD needs to sell their processors if they want to remain relevant in the market. We will just need to wait and see. Keeping fingers crossed and hoping for the best.

[auronini]

I'm unsure as to whether the deal on the gt330m will be available in 3 months time, dont want to risk it if the Trinity ones are out of my price range, plus ive got exams coming up i just want to get this whole laptop business out the way for now aha.

To conclude lets put it this way...I've managed 6 years with an Advent, Intel celeron M, 1.53Ghz single core, 1GB ram (9xx useable) and the oldest intel graphics known to mankind. As an occasional, casual, gamer i think the GT330m will suffice and even be a welcome change. If need be, i can play PC exclusive games in the future at lower resolutions to get those extra FPS to make them playable. And for those games that aren't PC exclusive, ive always got my ps3 + 42inch tv back at home to fall back on!

Thankyou for all the help, it's been greatly appreciated!


HAHA! just my luck -.- OUT OF STOCK. now what...

[idiot101]

Pick one of these up. You wont be disappointed in the short term. You could always upgrade if you feel like it after a couple of years.

HP Pavilion g6-1337sa 15.6" Laptop - Red at cheap prices | Pcworld

HP G6-1336sa 15.6" Laptop - Charcoal at cheap prices | Pcworld

LENOVO Z575 15.6" Laptop - Gun Metal at cheap prices | Pcworld

I am partial to the Lenovo keyboard. Please have a look at them in a store. The Lenovo screen is also brighter and the colors are more vivid than the HP screen.

[Deltido]

I'm unsure as to whether the deal on the gt330m will be available in 3 months time, dont want to risk it if the Trinity ones are out of my price range, plus ive got exams coming up i just want to get this whole laptop business out the way for now aha.

To conclude lets put it this way...I've managed 6 years with an Advent, Intel celeron M, 1.53Ghz single core, 1GB ram (9xx useable) and the oldest intel graphics known to mankind. As an occasional, casual, gamer i think the GT330m will suffice and even be a welcome change. If need be, i can play PC exclusive games in the future at lower resolutions to get those extra FPS to make them playable. And for those games that aren't PC exclusive, ive always got my ps3 + 42inch tv back at home to fall back on!

Thankyou for all the help, it's been greatly appreciated!


HAHA! just my luck -.- OUT OF STOCK. now what...

Lol. I'm sure you'll find something that's reasonably good. And according to nissangtr786 the HD 4000 graphics will be better than the gt330m.

If I remember correctly, when Sandy Bridge came out, it seemed like every single manufacturer had laptops released day one with HD 3000. If the Ivy bridge launch follows suit you'll have many HD 4000 choices in just a couple weeks

Though, after reading those specs you've been suffering through, I can understand if you'd just decide on going with one of these popular AMD choices.